Refrigerator



Sept, 2. 1924. 1,507,398

R. A. MOURON ET AL REFRIGERATOR 14 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept.

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R. A. MOURON ET AL REFRIGERATOR Filed Sent. 14 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2iNVENTOR Robertfl.Mouron and, fiimucl ZQIMourqn;

ATTORN'EY Patented Sept. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,507,398 PATENT orrlca.

ROFERT A. MOURON AND SAMUEL M. MOURON, F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, AS-

SIGNORS TO HOLCOMB & HOKE MFG. 00., OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A COBPORA-TION OF INDIANA.

REFRIGERATOR.

Application filed September 14, 1923. Serial no. 662,625.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT A. MoURoN and SAMUEL M. MOURON, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Indianapolis, inv

the county of Marion and State of Indiana,

have invented a new and useful Refrigerator, of which the following is aspecification.

In the use of display-counter refrigeralu tors, it is quite desirablethat the finer cuts of meats be displayed as nearly as possible adjacentthe glass top of the display portion of the counter, but heretofore ithas been found inadvisable to use the upper shelf for this purposebecause the degree of refrigeration attainable adjacent the upper shelfhas been so much less than the degree of refrigeration attainable at thebottom of the counter that it hasnot been sufficient for this class ofgoods.

The object of our present invention is to produce a display-counterrefrigerator of such character that a sufficient degree ofrefrigeration, closely approximating that attainable in the bottom ofthe case, may be attained adjacent the upper shelf which is placedfairly closely beneath the transparent top of the case.

A further object of our invention is to 3 produce a display-counter ofthe character described having a multiple door structure of suchcharacter that extraction of goods from the counter may be made througha comparatively small opening, while, to facilitate cleaning, a muchlarger door, carrying the doors for the smaller openings, may be opened.

A further object of our invention ,is to provide various improvements indetails of construction of the refrigerant container, and other detailsas will facilitate use and improve the refrigerating qualities of thedevice. e

The aocomparllzying drawings illustrate our invention. ig. 1, a sideelevation in partial vertical section of a display-counter refrigeratorembodying our invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section on line 22 of Fig.1; Fig. 3, a transverse section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4,a'perspective of one of the refrigerant chambers, and Fig. 5, afragmentary detail of a portion of one of the refrigerant chambers andthe adJacent partition.

In the drawings, 10 indicates themain body formed with suitableinsulating walls and divided into a central refrigerating chamber 11 andtwo refrigerant chambers 12, one at each end, the division beingaccomplished at each end by two vertically aligned, vertically spacedand preferably insulated partitions 13 and 14, the top of partition 13being spaced from the top of the main body, as shown in Fig. 1, to forman air passage 15; the bottom of the lower partition being spaced fromthe bottom of the main body to form an air passage 16; and the twopartitions being spaced from each other to form an intermediate airpassage 17, which is preferably funnel shaped, with its smaller endtoward the refrigerating chamber 11..

Arranged close to the bottom of chamber 11 is a display shelf 18 whichis preferably formed of longitudinally arranged slats, as

clearly shown in Fig. 2, slightly spaced from each other to permit aircirculation but arranged closely enou h together to obstruct View ofpersons in ront of the casing and looking through the transparent front20, so that the bottom of chamber 11 and the drainage trough 21 cannotbe seen.

Arranged in each end of the chamber 11, substantially flush with the topof partition 14 is a horizontal plate 22, substantially imperforate, andpreferably of glass, each plate being conveniently supported at its endsby transverse supports 23 and 24 and extending nearly, but not quite, tothe middle of thechamber 11.

Arranged longitudinally of chamber 11 at the front and back of thechamber, immediately above plates 22, are angle irons 25 upon which maybe laid, closely adjacent the tops of plates 22, suitable shelves 26 forthe reception and support of articles to be refrigerated and displayed,said shelves being conveniently formed of sufficiently stiff wirefabric.

The top and front of the refrigerating 100 chamber 11 are preferablyformed of transparent sheets 30, in the usual manner, and access is hadto chamber 11, through the rear wall of body 10, by means of large doors31which preferably have a vertical 105 dimension substantially equal tothe vertical dimension of chamber 11 to facilitate clean ing of thechamber. The opening of such door, in order to obtain a piece of goodsupon one or another of the shelves in cham- 110 her 11, would result intoo great a loss of cold air and, therefore, in order to avoid thisdifiiculty, we perforate door 31 immediately above each display shelfwith a smaller perforation 32 and provide for each perforation a closingdoor 33 and operable independently of the door 31.

Access to each refrigerant chamber 12 is had through a large opening 35in the rear wall of the main body and normally closed by door 36.Mounted in each refrigerant chamber is a refrigerant container 37comprising two leg-like portions 38, separated by an air passage 39, theopen upper end of which is flush with the top of the container and thelower end of which communicates with a longitudinal passage 40,preferably of gradually increasing vertical dimension approachingpassage 17, the delivery end of this passage being registered withpassage 17. The horizontal dimensions of the container 37 are somewhatless than the horizontal dimensions of chamber 12 within which it ismounted, and the gap between the top of partition 14 and the adjacentwall of the container is bridged by a flange 41 secured to the container37, the arrangement being such that the refrigerated air passingdownwardly through passage39 and later- 9 ally through passage 40, andthat passing down between the container and partition 13, is compelledto flow out through passage 17 and onto and along the horizontalpartition 22. r In order to increase the amount of refrigerated airwhich will be delivered to passage 17, we deem it advisable to perforatethe vertical wall of container 37, adjacent partition 13, as indicatedat42, 42 l-in' such manner as to retain the refrigerantbut permit outflowof refrigerated air. This is most conveniently accomplished bycomparatively large perforations through the wall of the container whichperforations are protected by a suitable screen, as shown.

Below the bottom o'fpassage 40 we pro :vide a: small transverse passage43- which connects the two legs 38 and serves as an I equalizer forliquid accumulating in the refrigerant container. The rear wall of thecontainer is perforated, at 44, to permit outflow of surplus water to a.vertical drain passage 45 which delivers to a drip pan 46 arranged inthe bottom of the refrigerant chamber-12 and delivering to the adjacentdrain trough 2 1.

In order to facilitate the charging of the refrigerant container 37 witha suitable refri rant, such for instance as crushed ice an 1; salt, weprovide the container 37 with suitable supporting wheels 47 resting upon48 arranged in chamber 12 and supplemented by hinged extensions 49 which:extended from body 10, when door 36 is opened, and supported by.suitable hinged legs 50. Tracks 48 are so formed and arranged-es not tomaterially interfere with the flow ofrefrigerated air downwardly alongthe sides of legs 38 to passage 16.

In operation, air refrigerated by the contents of container 37, willflow downwardly along the walls of the legs of the container; downwardlyand laterally through passages 39 and 40; and downwardly and laterallythrough the refrigerant and screens42. The refrigerated air which flowsthrough passages 39 and 40 and through the screens 42 and between thecontainer and the adjacent partition 13, will flow through passage 17onto and along the horizontal partition 22, while the refrigerated airflowing downwardly along the remaining portions of the wall of thecontainer 37 will bedelivered to passage 16 and will flow from thenceoutwardly along the bottom of the chamber 11 adjacent shelf 18.

As the air is warmed by the contents of the chamber 11, it will rise tothe upper part of the chamber and pass from thence through passages 15into the refrigerant chambers, the warmer air from the lower portion ofcompartment 11 passing upward-, ly between the adjacent ends of the twopartitions 22.

It will, of course, be understood, that while we have shown ourinvention as embodied .in a'structure comprising a refrigerant chamberin each end, a satisfactory construction may be made, along the linesindicated above, in which only one refrigerant chamber is provided,either at one end of the main body or at an intermediate point.

We have found from actual tests of the apparatus described above thatrefrigeration of the space immediately adjacent the top of shelves 22may be brought and maintained to within four to six degrees ofrefrigeration adjacent the bottom shelf 18, and Jeelow freezing point ifdesired, so that with our construction it is possible for the merchantto display his highest 'and most perishable grades of meats and othergoods on the top shelf where,the v are most readily visible tocustomers.

- We claim as our invention:

1. In a refrigerator of the display-counter type, the combination of amain body divided by a pair of verticall -separated transversepartitions into a re rigerant chamber and a refrigerating chamber, ahorizontal partition of less length, than the refrigerating chamberarranged transversely lengthwise of said chamber at an intermediatepoint in the height of the chamber and below the lower edge of the uppertransversev partition, and a refrigerant container, ar-

ranged in the refrigerant chamber so that some of the air refrigeratedby the contained refrigerant will pass from the refrigerant chamberdirectly to the top of said horizontal'partition and other refrigeratedair will pass from the refrigerant chamberbeneath the lower edge of thelower partition into the lower portion of the refrigerating chamber, areturn passage being formed between the upper portion of therefrigerating chamber and the upper portion of the refrigerant chamber.

2. A refrigerator comprising a main hollow body divided by a transversepartition structure into a refrigerant chamber and a refrigeratingchamber, said transverse partition structure providing acommunicationbetween the lower part of the refrigerant chamber and the lower part ofthe refrigerating chamber, a communication between the upper part of therefrigerating chamber and the upper part of the refrigerant chamber, andan intermediate communication between an intermediate portion of therefrigerant chamber and an intermediate portion of the refrigeratingchamber, a flow-defining transparent partition of less length than therefrigerating chamber arranged in the refrigerating chamber below theintermediate communication between the refrigerant chamber andrefrigerating chamber, and

means arranged within the refrigerant chamber for supporting arefrigerant and directing portions of the refrigerated air to andthrough the intermediate communication and the lower communicationbetween the refrigerant chamber and refrigerating chamber.

3. A refrigerator comprising a main hollow body divided by a transversepartition structure into a refrigerant chamber and a refrigeratingchamber, said transverse partition structure providing a communicationbetween the lower part of the refrigerant chamber and the lower part ofthe refrigerating chamber, a communication between the upper part of therefrigerating chamber and the upper part of the refrigerant chamher, andan intermediate communication between an intermediate portion of therefrigerant chamber and an intermediate portion of the refrigeratingchamber, ,a flowdefining partition of less length than the refrigeratingchamber arranged in the refrigerating chamber below the intermediatecommunication between the refrigerant chamber and refrigerating cha her,and means arranged within the refrig rant chamber for supporting arefrigerant and directing portions of the refrigerated air to and throuh the intermediate communication and the lower communication between therefrigerant chamberand refrigerating chamber.

4. A refrigerator comprising a main hollow; body divided by a transversepartition structure into a refrigerant chamber and a refrigeratingchamber, said transverse partition structure providing a communication'erating between the lower part of the refrigerant chamber and the lowerpart of the refrigerating chamber, a communication between the upperpart of the refrigerating chamber and theupper part of the refrigerantchamber, and an intermediate communication betweenan intermediateportion of the refrigerant chamber and an intermediate portion of therefrigerating chamber, a flow-defining transparent partition of lesslength than the refrigerating chamber arranged in the refrigeratingchamber below the intermediate communication between the refrigerantchamber and refrigerating chamber, a refrigerant container arrangedwithin the refrigerant chamber and having a vertical extent both aboveand below the intermediate communication between the refrigerant chamberand refrigerating chamber and provided with means to divert a portion ofrefrigerated air laterally to the said intermediate communication.

5. A refrigerator comprising a main hollow body divided by a transversepartition structure into a refrigerant chamber and a refrigeratingchamber, said transverse partition structure providing a communicationbetween the lower part of the refrigerant chamber and the lower part ofthe refrigerating chamber, a communication between the upper part of therefrigerating chamher and the upper part of the refrigerant chamber, andan intermediate communication between an intermediate portion of therefrigerant chamber and an intermediate portion of the refrigeratingchamber, a flowdefining partition of less length than the refrigeratingchamber arranged in the refrigerating chamber below the intermediatecommunication between the refrigerant chamber and refrigerating chamber,a refri erant container arranged within the re rigerant chamber andhaving a vertical extent both above and below the intermediatecommunication between the refrigerant chamber and refrigerating chambeerand provided with means to divert a portion of refrigerated airlaterally to the said intermediate communication.

6. A refrigerator comprising a main holrefrigerating chamber. saidtransverse partition structure providing a communication between thelower part of the refrigerant chamber and the lower part of therefrigchamber, a communication between the upper part of therefrigerating chamber and the upper part of the/refrigerant' chamber,and an intermediate com munication between an intermediate portion ofthe refrigerant chamber and an intermediate portion of the refrigeratingchamber, a flow-defining transparent partition of-less length than therefrigerating chamber arranged in the refrigerating chamber below theintermediate communication between the refrigerant chamber andrefrigerating chamber, a refrigerant container mounted in therefrigerant chamber and havin a vertical extent both above and below t eintermediate communication between the refrigerant chamber and therefrigerating chamber, said refrigerant container embodying a verticalair passage having a lateral outlet arranged to register with saidintermediate communication.

7. A refrigerator comprising a main hollow body divided by a transversepartition structure into a refrigerant chamber and a refrigeratingchamber, said transverse partition structure providing a communicationbetween the lower part of the refrigerant chamber and the lower part ofthe refrigerating chamber, a communication between the upper part of therefrigerating chamber and the upper part of the refrigerant chamber, andan intermediate communication between an intermediat' portion of therefrigerant chamber an an intermediate portion of the refrigeratingchamber, a flowdefining partition of less length than the refrigeratingchamber arranged in the re-* frigerating chamber below the intermediatecommunication between the refrigerant chamber and refrigerating chamber,a refrigerant container mounted in the refrig-- erant chamber and havinga vertical extent both above and below the intermediate communicationbetween the refrigerant chamber and the refrigerating chamber, saidrefrigerant container embodying a vertical air passage having a lateraloutlet arranged to register with said intermediate communication.

8. A display-counter refrigerator comprising a main bod having arefrigerant chamber and a refrigerating chamber with transparent frontand top wall portions, an imperforate transparent partition arranged inthe refrigerating chamber at intermediate line in the height thereof andextended from the refrigerant chamber, and two cold air passages leadingfrom the refrigerant chamber to the refrigerating chamber, one above andone below said transparent partition.

9. In a-display-counter refrigerator, the combination of the main bodycomprising a refrigerant chamber and a refrigerating chamber havingarticle-receiving elements at different levels, a main door giving access to the interior of the refrigerating chamber at more than onelevel, and a plurality of smaller doors carried by the main door atdifferent levels and giving access therethrough into the refrigeratingchamber at different levels. 1

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Indianapolis,Indiana, this 11th day of September, A. D. one thousand nine hundred andtwenty three.

ROBERT A. MOURON. SAMUEL M. MOURON.

